If you want to add a couple years to your life, you might need to turn your food up a notch or two.

A large Chinese health study, which followed the diets of 485,000 people, has found that enjoying spicy foods six or seven times a week reduces the risk of an early death by 14 per cent. If you’re not a huge fan of chili peppers, don’t worry. The study says people who dabbled in the spice just once or twice a week still reduced their risk by 10 per cent. And to top it all off, the risk of cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease in participants also went down. Not too shabby, right?

Now before you get too excited and start smothering your food with hot sauce and red pepper flakes, there is a catch of sorts. The researchers still don’t know whether it’s the spicy food itself that helps you live longer or the lifestyle that goes along with spicy-food eaters. However, this study does back up previous studies which found that capsaicin, the main ingredient in chili peppers, posses anti-obesity, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammation and anti-cancer properties, according to CTV.

You’re craving some chili goodness now, aren’t you? Check out these people enjoying spicy foods from around the world. Hey, maybe you’ll be inspired: